WoW! What an awesome Service we had on Sunday. If you missed it go back and view it. Click here to view it. Don’t forget about Our Christmas Eve Service Don’t miss it. Mark your calendars.
1 Thessalonians 5:24 (King James Version)
24Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
On Saturday November 28, 2009 my wife and I celebrated 11 years of marriage and counting. In a society where people are giving up on marriage, being unfaithful, I wanted to share with you some practical wisdom on how to have a thriving and successful marriage; no matter what life throws at you.
First off - marriage is work and fun. Living together without being married; is the pleasure of marriage without the work. The reason is there is no commitment. Marriage is commitment between you and your spouse and God. If you cannot commit to God, it’s going to be hard to commit to each other.
Commitment strands from being fully persuaded and trusting. Trusting comes from loving. You cannot truly love someone without trusting him or her. If you cannot trust the individual, you will not be able to truly love them. Most people cannot commit because they have had their trust violated, and so it’s hard for the individual to commit. They will commit only to a point. But without full commitment, you will never be able to have a thriving and successful marriage.
My wife and I do not argue, we simply have discussions; no, really, arguing leads to nothing more than confusion and disputes. Don’t debate everything, learn to work together and find each other’s strengths. The enemy will always show your partners weaknesses, but God will always expose the strengths and the potential he or she has in Christ. Never put your spouse down. No matter what he or she says. The bible states Satan is the accuser of the brethren. He goes around putting people down making them feel like a loser because he is one himself. Hebrews 10:25 states for us to encourage one another. When you encourage one another, you will see the strengths each one have; come out.
Men, take your wife on a date once a week, a minimum of once a month. Regardless of your schedules; make time for it. Let her know how much you love her. How you really feel about her. Women encourage your husband. Let him know that he is the superman in your life. When you encourage him and pump him up, there is nothing he will not do for you. Even when things are not going well for him, let him know you are for him and with him and that God is with him and for him. If you marriage is on the rocks, know that you can come to Jesus and He is the rock. Rest in him, lay your issues at His feet, ask him for answers, creative solutions.
Maybe you are at a point where your marriage has become almost “platonic”. Can that happen? Well platonic means to be intimate and affectionate but not sexual. When having kids, juggling your career, schedules, meetings, travel time, sometimes it feels like you have nothing left to give.
Revelations 2:4 shows us God telling Ephesus (the church) he knew their works and labor but one thing was missing and that was they left their first love. They needed to come back to God. Today take some time to evaluate where your love life is at between you and God and you and your spouse. If it is lacking decide today that you are making a come back. Change whatever you have to change in your schedule, create a new routine and work it in.
When we put God first in our life, we are able to trust that He is faithful. He can work out what seems to be broken and not going well. That includes a marriage.
Tomorrow I will continue this with Faithful in an Unfaithful World.
God Bless,
Pastor Mark
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